Park Geun-hye could always rely on one unwavering gift throughout a political career that saw a triumphant return as South Korea's first female president to the palatial Blue House where she'd lived as a girl: She always enjoyed the reflected devotion, some might say worship, that half the country felt for her late dictator father.

South Korean lawmakers on Friday passed an impeachment motion against President Park Geun-Hye, stripping away her sweeping executive powers over a corruption scandal that paralysed her administration and triggered massive street protests.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye, engulfed in an influence-peddling scandal, faces a historic impeachment vote in parliament on Friday that could see her become the country's first democratically elected leader to be ousted from office.

Seoul's anti-trust agency slapped the South Korean unit of German carmaker Volkswagen with a 37.3 billion won ($32 million) fine Wednesday for false advertising over the carmaker's emissions fraud scandal.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye said on Tuesday she would accept the result of an impeachment vote against her this week but indicated she would not step down now as demanded by opposition parties, a top official of her Saenuri Party said.

South Korea's embattled President Park Geun-hye faces a pivotal week, with an effort to impeach her gaining support from within her own party and the heads of the country's biggest business groups set to give testimony to a parliamentary committee.

South Korea's three opposition parties introduced a bill on Saturday for parliament to impeach President Park Geun-hye who, tainted by a corruption scandal, could become the first democratically elected leader to leave office early in disgrace.